


Ivy

by macdentrash



Category: IASIP, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Genre: Angst, Friends to Lovers, Lesbian Dee, M/M, NSFW
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-24
Updated: 2019-08-06
Packaged: 2019-10-15 12:11:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17528459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/macdentrash/pseuds/macdentrash
Summary: Dennis and Mac’s relationship is finally being called into question by the gang and things may never be the same again.*I love being dramatic, this sounds like a soap opera.  Title is from the Frank Ocean song of the same name and this fic is loosely based on the lyrics as well*





	1. The Start of Nothing

**Author's Note:**

> _The start of nothing  
>  I could hate you now  
> It's quite alright to hate me now_  
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> Dee calls Dennis out, in true Dee Reynolds fashion.  
> *Warning for harsh language and if you’re here you know the drill. Canon typical horrible people. Also Dennis is a bi/gay asshole.

The gang sit around the bar, both shooting the shit and giving it to each other as usual. 

“Charlie, buddy” Mac says from his spot in between Charlie and Dee.

“You cannot continue to tell me that _drinking_ paint is healthy for you. You can’t and you won’t” Mac says definitively, pointing a finger in Charlie’s direction, although the desired air of seriousness is dramatically decreased by the tipsy laugh he huffs out at the end of his sentence.

“Mac, buddy” Charlie starts, matching Mac’s tone.  
“I most certainly _can_ tell you that drinking paint is healthy. 4/5 doctors recommend drinking paint for a healthy heart and spine” Charlie says with a wink, letting Mac in on his scientifically backed facts. 

“Doctors do not say that” Mac shoots back, not feeling the need to say more.

“Oh my God, will you twerps shut the holy fuck up?” Dee sneers at Mac and Charlie. 

“I agree, this is stupid” Dennis says, calmly taking a sip from his beer.

“Yeah Mac shut the fuck up. You know I’m right so let’s move on” Charlie says before taking a huge gulp of his green paint.

“Now listen here, YOU RAT EATING BITCH. I will fucking TEAR YOU TO SHREDS BEFORE I BURY YOU A GODDAMN LIVE” Mac screams as he leaps up in anger.

Dennis leans across the bar and grabs Mac’s hand that is settled on the edge, curled in a fist. Dennis rubs his thumb gently over the top of Mac’s hand until the fist uncurls and Mac settles back down on his stool. 

“Dude, chill” Dennis says softly to Mac.

Mac glares at Charlie but ultimately lets out a defeated sigh, like he can’t be bothered to give a shit, and takes a deep pull on his beer. Dennis slowly withdraws his hand.

Frank, who the gang had forgotten about since he had passed out with a loud _thunk_ of his head hitting the bar a few hours back, suddenly sits up.

“Gotta go find my good whore, see you dipshits later” Frank mutters, sounding barely cognitive as he stumbles toward the door, saying something about “avoiding those damn crabs” as he exits the bar.

Dee snorts in laughter after Frank leaves. Dennis looks at her with a raised eyebrow, wondering if she has finally lost her shit. When Dee meets Dennis’ gaze her snort laugh reaches high capacity, that snort could be heard by anyone within the tri state area, hell maybe even all of Pennsylvania could hear it. 

“Bitch” Dennis whispers.  
Dee just continues to laugh harder as she stares at Dennis, utterly losing it, wheezing and all.

“What’s so funny?” Charlie asks, taking a demure sip of his paint, pinky up.

Dee tries to talk several times but seems to be unable through her thick fog of laughter.

“Dee you eviscerated shrew of a dried up tramp, just SPIT IT the fuck out” Dennis hisses, murder underlying every word in his sentence.

“Frank” _wheeze_ “is getting” _wheeze_ “more pussy than you” Dee cackles, saying the last few words in a hurried stream, getting them out before the laughter takes back over.

Dennis’ face flushes a bright red. Charlie avoids looking in his direction, not wanting to get into the confrontation.

Mac looks on, seeming slightly bored, waiting for this thing to play out. He already knows that Dennis is about to talk for, like, twelve and a half hours about how _straight_ he is. Mac just doesn’t want to deal with Dennis’ whole case of closet syndrome right now. 

Mac tries to not think about the fact that Dennis never seemed that _straight_ when they low key/high key fucked for several months a while back, or the times in between then and now, or... well all that doesn’t matter just now as Dennis is hell bent on giving Mac the cold shoulder until the day they die.

“I’ll have you know Dee that I am a God of pussy, a pussy slayer if you will and I will not have you slandering me in our place of business” Dennis spits at Dee, she just giggles quietly in response.

“Oh please Dennis, you couldn’t be less straight if you tried and we all see clear as day how hard you’re trying. I’m sorry but, have you seen yourself? The dudes from queer eye couldn’t make you more gay if they tried, maybe pull you out of that flannel kick you’ve been on for several years, but not gayer and that is saying something” Dee eyes Dennis up and down, like she just _knows_ something he doesn’t.

“Shut the fuck up, you fucking cunt! You dress like a college lesbian and you’re forty. You’re a pathetic, used up, cold bitch who never even got close to accomplishing shit in life. Don’t tell me who I am Dee, like you even know yourself. I love pussy Dee, I love TITS. Explain to me how loving tits makes me gay exactly” Dennis says, very calm. He’s a rational man, he can debate his stupid bitch of a sister all day long and always come out the victor. 

Dee sobers up a bit of that but the glint of malice grows stronger in her eye, Dennis waits for the biting comeback he’s bound to receive.

“Dennis, my brother, my twin. I’m not saying that you hate pussy, although you certainly don’t seem to like the women attached to those vaginas very much, but that is beside the point. I’m just saying that you’re not straight and I’m tired of hearing you drone on about how straight you are and then immediately talking about leather or your hair afterwards” Dee says in a tone that would sound sweet to an outsider but is clearly not to anyone who knows our Sweet Dee

“So what? That’s what this is about? I care about my appearance? I don’t want my hair, which takes a lot of effort by the way, to get ruined in the rain? Sorry to break it to you Dee but looking great while shirtless in the duster and enjoying a hearty Pina Colada every now and again doesn’t make me gay, or even bi. Hell, it doesn’t even make me asexual” Dennis says, snide, he has just made the most scholarly remark that’s ever been remarked. LGBTQ scholars everywhere must be shaking, Dennis thinks to himself. 

“What are you talking about Dennis? Who said anything about asexuality? You know what never mind, you’re a fucking idiot. And by the way, that whole spiel you just rang off about leather and Pina Coladas is EXACTLY what I’m talking about. You’re acting just like Mac did before he came out, all defensive and ... just...” Dee trails off while trying to think of the perfect way to put this, “so, _so_ gay” 

Mac clears his throat, cutting in abruptly  
“I showed no outward signs of being gay and that’s just indisputable, don’t drag me into this” Mac says, running a hand through his hair. He totally agrees with Dee but he’s been on thin ice with Dennis for awhile now and he needs to try to stay on his good side.

Dee huffs out a laugh, turning back to Dennis, she hooks a thumb in Mac’s direction.

“See! Even now he denies that he could have been seen as gay back then. You guys are mental gymnasts, too bad there’s not a category in the Olympics for repression because you would both win the fucking gold” Dee says, grinning victoriously.

“We can’t both win the gold Dee, that’s just not ethical” Mac says, looking between Dee and Dennis. 

“Do you even know how sports work Dee? You are such an idiot” Dennis says, he pours two shots and downs them quick. Dee zeroes in on the action with the focus of a heat seeking missile. 

“Oh is this conversation making the alcoholism jump out? Sorry” Dee says, fake sugary voice coating her words in a thick molasses.  
“I’m not trying to hurt your feelings Dennis, and don’t say you don’t have them because we all know that you have BIG feelings okay, in fact it is quite the opposite. I’m trying to pull you out of your misery and get you to be proud of who you are” Dee says, wearing her smug ‘I’m a good samaritan for helping you’ face loud and proud.

“Don’t ever imply you have influence over how I feel Dee. That’s mistake number two” Dennis says to her with a murderous little smile.

“What’s mistake number one?” Charlie asks, looking up from his paint.

“I’m glad you asked that Charlie. Mistake number one was me not eating her in the womb like I did with our brother” Dennis says, chuckling lightly.

“Don’t you take credit for that Dennis! We both absorbed his power and you know it!But back to the topic of hand, don’t think you can distract me from this Dennis. Not when I have irrefutable evidence of your not straightness” Dee says, smile playing across her lips. 

Dennis glares at her with the power of a thousand suns. “You know it’s pretty fucked up to try to invalidate my sexual identity. Isn’t that the kind of thing you liberal types are against Dee? Not to mention the fact that you don’t have shit for evidence as I am not gay and as previously stated, am a pussy SLAYER, a master of the pussy arts” Dennis says, trying to hide the sweat about to break on his forehead. 

“Ok pussy slayer. Whatever you say” Dee says, throwing her half full beer back and burping loudly.

Dennis knows that he can leave it here and they can go back to giving each other shit about things that don’t make him break out in hives, but he knows this will needle him from the inside out if he doesn’t hear the rest of what his wretch of a sister has planned on saying.

“No Dee, I want to hear your evidence, support your case. I want to hear it so I can laugh at how pathetic your feeble attempts are to puncture my sexual identity” Dennis says, trying to sound casual.

Dee stares at Dennis long and hard, she glances at Mac and Charlie and then looks back at her twin brother, giving a slight nod as if making a decision.

“The way you look at Mac when he’s not looking” Dee says simply, shrugging her shoulders. 

Whatever he thought he might hear, he was not expecting that. Dennis’ cheeks grow bright pink and he levels Dee with a glare that would make a flower wilt. 

“That’s ridiculous Dee, Mac is annoying as shit and we all hate him” Dennis says, avoiding looking in Mac’s direction although he can’t help but notice the large silhouette of the other man sitting up.

“Mac is annoying as shit, but we all know that you two have been gay for each other since before you even met. When God sat down and made you two, he said ‘they deserve each other’. We’ve all been watching it unfold for years and I for one just want you to stop dancing around it. It’s honestly just sad at this point” Dee says, firing back.

Mac stares hard at the bar, jaw clenched but doesn’t say a word, waiting for Dennis’ response.

“He’s been obsessed with me since high school Dee, that’s what you’ve been seeing. I’ve shown my disinterest on numerous occasions. I couldn’t even think of a reason I liked being his roommate for God’s sake! He’s a stalker, that’s what it is. See Mac? Now I’m being accused because you refuse to leave me alone!” 

Dennis is getting more worked up the longer he talks, he feels as if he’s in a box with one small hole punctured at the top. He can breathe now but the air will be gone soon, and then what the fuck is he supposed to do?

Mac stands up from the bar and glares at Dennis.  
“Fuck you Dennis. Dee’s right by the way, you reek of self hatred. If I bother you so fucking much, and me being gay, me being myself disgusts you then... I’ll just fuck off out of your life. I’ll be out of the apartment by the end of the night” Mac doesn’t yell for once, but he doesn’t sound dejected either. He sounds like he’s tired and angry, he’s finally gotten to his breaking point.

Dennis just stares wordlessly as Mac quickly strides out of Paddy’s, the door snapping shut behind him. 

Charlie slowly withdraws himself, as if he goes quietly enough they will forget he was ever there, and disappears into the basement.

Dennis looks at Dee across the bar, she looks unbothered.

“What the fuck did you just do?” Dennis asks, whispering vehemently. 

“Forcing you to make a decision, God knows you’ll never do it for yourself you fucking psycho” Dee says, stating this as if it is the most obvious thing in the world.

“Fuck you bitch” Dennis says, crossing the bar, snatching his keys as he goes.

“Real original, you overgrown tool” Dee says to Dennis’ retreating back.  
“Don’t forget that I know you sucked dick in college!” she yells in a sing song voice as he closes the door to the bar.


	2. Deep Down it’s Good (right?)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dennis spirals. Otherwise known as working through deep self denial, in this case.

_I could hate you now  
It's quite alright to hate me now  
When we both know that deep down  
The feeling still deep down is good_

 

Dennis walks quickly away from the bar and turns the corner sharply into the alley behind Paddys. 

He wishes his hands would stop shaking, that he could fucking breathe right (but who is he kidding, he’s barely staying on the right side of hyperventilating), and above all? He wishes Dee a painful trip to Hell.

He knows deep down inside ( _way, way_ down) that Dee (God, that fucking bitch) is at least _partially_ right. 

Dennis has always known that he is not the image that he shows to the world, not that he even does a great job of portraying what he _desires_ to be very well, especially these days. 

When did his life get so fucked? When did _he_ get so fucked? 

Dennis laughs lightly at his internal monologue. The question he should be asking himself is: When was he ever not this way? 

Dennis lets his head hang low, chin barely brushing his chest, for a few moments longer. He allows this time to collect himself before he curls up his fists tight, fingernails burying themselves in his palms, before uncurling his hands slowly while releasing a slow breath. 

Dennis ducks out of the alley, glancing around to make sure that none of the gang are hanging around like the creatures they are. He lights a cigarette, a habit he’s picked up steadily ever since he got back from North Dakota and walks away from the bar without really having a specific purpose motivating his actions.

He’s so fucking _exhausted_ all the time. He’s tired of trying to make things feel ok with the gang, everything has been so weird and their whole dynamic feels completely skewed ever since his decision to fuck off to North Dakota just to fuck off back here in the end anyways. He’s tired of feeling everything so intensely all the time, he’s really just tired of being at this point.

And of course, the biggest thorn in his side: Ronald McDonald. How fucking ridiculous. After all this time he still can’t believe a man named after happy meal clown has brought so much trouble into his life. What Dennis said back in the bar wasn’t completely untrue, Mac has been following him around since high school and he’s most definitely a major factor of why Dee accused him of being gay, or at least not straight.

So, yeah maybe him and Mac haven’t always done strictly platonic things together but that doesn’t change anything now. 

His and Mac’s relationship feels irreparably fractured, right down the codependent middle, everything that has gone unsaid and all the _fucking feelings_ lingering at the edge of their lives is all about to spill out and make a big fucking mess right at their feet. And who’s fault is it but their own? 

Dennis doesn’t want to think about this right now or, better yet, ever again. He taps his fingers nervously against his leg as he continues down the busy sidewalk. 

The sun is starting to set, he should go back to the bar or just give it up and head back to the apartment. It feels good though, to just let his feet take him along without thinking too hard about it. 

Before he knows it, Dennis is standing in front of a bar. The Rainbow, of all places. It’s still early but the neon rainbow sign flicks on as Dennis stands beneath it, his reflection suddenly illuminated in the glass doors, more detailed than a simple silhouette. Dennis sees his own jaw set as he walks forward and through the doors. 

He can hear the speakers blasting ‘Work Bitch’ by Britney Spears as he approaches the bar. Dennis glances around, there’s a few small groups of men and women lingering around, laughing and drinking but the crowd hasn’t made its way in yet. Dennis leans his weight against the bar as a young man in a tight white t shirt turns towards him across the bar.

“What can I get ya?” the guy asks politely.

“Uh, I’ll just take a beer thanks” Dennis says, suddenly feeling unsure of himself. What is he doing here again? 

The bartender nods and slides a beer across the counter after reaching down to twist off the cap. 

Dennis mumbles his thanks and takes his drink to the end of the bar. He settles onto a stool and starts to sip out of the bottle. 

He stares off into space for awhile, too overwhelmed by his thoughts to really linger over one in particular for much time. After a while though, the same phrase keeps repeating itself, it echoes around his skull in a shrill voice. ‘The way you look at Mac when he’s not looking’ Dee says over and over, Dennis is starting to feel sick and it’s not from the few sips of cheap beer that’s he’s had since sitting down.

Is he really that obvious? He must be, if Dee’s picking up on it. He’s been trying to keep this whole Mac _thing_ at bay for years now, but they always end up back in the same steps anyways, the eternal dance that they’ve mastered after all this time. 

Dennis’ stomach drops even more when he thinks back on the events of the day. The way that Mac looked at him before he left the bar, like he’d finally had enough. He’s finally done it, succeeded in getting the person who would do anything for him to withdraw from him and finally leave. 

Fuck Mac, Dennis thinks. This is all his fault anyways. Who is he to make Dennis feel this way? Who gave him the right to become such an integral part of how Dennis functions? 

Dennis makes up his mind then and there. He’s going to forget about Mac tonight. He’s going to get drunk enough that he can’t feel Mac’s brown eyes burning into him anymore, accusing him. Mac should have seen it coming, he knows better than anyone that Dennis is a bastard man. Dennis decides that his mission is to forget that Mac exists, at least for tonight. 

A good place to start then, is _a lot_ more alcohol, and maybe some harder shit if he can find someone around here that will share. 

Dennis waves the spry bartender over and orders approximately 3 shots of top shelf vodka and one extremely alcoholic Pina Colada because, to reiterate, _fuck Dee_. 

He downs two shots and then slams the last one for good measure. He then resigns back to his stool to sip at the Pina Colada.

As he sips, Dennis notices that the crowd in here has definitely gotten larger and the overall gayness in the room has become distinctly palatable. He takes a while but finally finishes his drink. He sets it down softly on the bar top and gets up to leave. 

While Dennis is on his way towards the door, he’s stricken with a thought. What better way to forget Mac exists than to fuck someone else? As Dee so poignantly pointed out earlier, he hasn’t been laid in a while and maybe if he didn’t have so much pent up sexual energy, it would be easier to work through his problems (probably not, but you never know until you try)... 

Dennis turns on his heel and walks directly into the heart of the crowd. He feels awkward at first but he allows his limbs to relax, the shots from before are pulsing through his system and the buzz in his blood is allowing him to relax in a setting where he would typically have a full blown, ‘help I’ve fallen and I can’t get up’ panic attack. He ignores all the sounds of people around him and focuses on the music. 

It’s not long before he grows over heated, what with all the gyration surrounding him (not to mention his own sweet moves). Not thinking about it, he unbuttons his shirt and allows it to slip off his shoulders. He’s free, uninhibited. 

He continues to dance to the beat, eyes closed until he feels a pair of hands settle onto his hips. Dennis’ eyes flutter open and he ignores the drop in his stomach when the eyes that meet his are a piercing light grey instead of rich dark brown. 

The man smiles down at him, a good few inches taller than Dennis himself. Dennis smirks in return before he throws his head back again, swaying to the beat. 

They dance like that for awhile, moving together. It feels nice if he doesn’t think about it too much. He could get into this. 

The stranger pulls Dennis’ hips flush against his as they dance and Dennis enjoys it. Dennis grinds back against the man, a true professional at his craft, and leans in to whisper in his ear. The stranger tilts his head, awaiting what Dennis is about to say.

“Want me to blow you in the bathroom?” Dennis asks, very bluntly. He doesn’t need much finesse to get a guy to agree to a blow job, Dennis assures himself internally. 

The man doesn’t say anything, just nods and gives Dennis a lingering look as he trails his eyes over his body. Dennis licks his lips and allows the man to take his hand, leading him across the dance floor to what he can only assume is the men’s bathroom.

The man leads Dennis into a stall before dropping his hand lightly. 

He leans into Dennis’ space, moving to kiss him. Dennis moves away and glances up at the man through blood shot eyes. 

“Do you have anything?” Dennis asks, aiming for a casual tone.

“I don’t think I need to put on a condom for you to suck my dick, unless you were looking for more than that” the man says with a raised eyebrow.

Dennis let’s out an airy laugh. “I don’t mean a condom, I mean drugs. I’m not an idiot, I know you don’t need a condom for a fucking blow job” Dennis says, some of his trademark venom dripping into his voice. 

“I have a few pills if that’s what gets you off” the man says, pulling a baggie out of his pocket and giving it a light shake. 

“Oh that’ll do just fine” Dennis purs. 

The man drops a couple oxies into his open palm. Dennis crushes them up on the toilet paper dispenser with a small pocket knife on his keychain and somehow gets a fat line onto his pointer finger, which he quickly snorts. The other man does the same and they turn back to each other.

Dennis studies the man, seeing him well for the first time in the fluorescent light. He has platinum blonde hair, a lean, tall frame and those grey eyes. The complete opposite of the soft brown hair, stocky, shorter frame of Mac.

Dennis’ pill clouded brain drags on the name. _Mac, Mac, Mac_. Mac should be here, he thinks to himself. Mac sounds nice just about now. He would settle a hand onto the small of Dennis’ back and anchor him, he would make sure Dennis was okay. Mac should be here. 

He shakes the thought clear out of his head. No, no, no, fuck Mac. This whole thing is his fault and Dennis is on a mission to forget he exists.

The stranger pressed up to him in the dirty bathroom stall moves in and presses his lips against Dennis’, harshly maneuvering his tongue into his mouth, lacking anything resembling gentleness. Dennis makes a choking noise and moves away, startled.

“So are you gonna suck my dick or what?” The man asks, his tone is playful but there is an undercurrent of annoyance in his words.

Just as Dennis opens his mouth to reply, he feels a tsunami wave of nausea and heaves a truly impressive amount of bile onto the shoes of the stranger. 

The man grunts in distaste and pushes Dennis out of the way, against the stall door. He looks at Dennis in disgust and turns to leave the bathroom, muttering something about “fucking twinks, can’t hold their shit together-“ as he exits.

Dennis shoves the stall door shut and collapses onto the ground. He dry heaves into the toilet a few times before he sits there with his head against the rim of the toilet bowl. His head pounds and his sinuses sting, he just wants to go home. 

Home, to the apartment. The apartment that Mac had promised to leave. 

Dennis heaves into the toilet again but nothing comes out. After several minutes of feeling like he has a mild case of death and trying to avoid thoughts of how disgusting the floor he’s sat on is, he leverages himself into a standing position and exits the restroom, making his way out of the thrumming bar.

In a daze he heads to the apartment, some auto pilot function kicking in to tread the path home.

After several years worth of walking (that’s how it feels at least), Dennis is across the street from his apartment building. He makes his way through the front doors and stumbles up the stairs.

He miraculously gets the apartment door open, and makes his way to his room in the dark. He’s barely fallen face flat on his pillow before he’s dead asleep.


	3. We'll Never Be Those Kids Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I live for an unnecessary dream sequence. 
> 
>  
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>  
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> _We didn't give a fuck back then  
>  I ain't a kid no more  
> We'll never be those kids again_

Dennis’ fingers curl tight around the steering wheel as Mac’s arm grazes his as he changes the radio station from Rick Astley’s ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ to a station playing ‘Heart Shaped Box’ by Nirvana. The year is 1994, it’s March. Kurt Cobain would die the next month, and Mac would be devastated. 

How does Dennis know that? He shakes the thought away. He and Mac are on their way to Mac’s dealer Syd’s place. Mac needs to re-up his weed supply since he just snitched out the only other dealer on their high school campus. 

The drive is noticeably quitter than usual. Mac just hums along to the lyrics of the song, staring out the window. Dennis thinks about how pretty he looks, eyelashes fanned out across his cheeks, lost in thought. The quiet is strange though, Mac usually won’t shut the hell up and now he has nothing to say. Come to think of it, he had been quiet for about a week now. 

Oh yeah, _that_. 

The whole gang had snuck into Adriano’s party. They had been mostly together the whole time, splitting joints and drinking stolen beer. But it had gotten late fast and the gang had slowly trickled off. Dee had squeaked off with some weird girl that Charlie was always following around, and Charlie had gone looking for them.

Mac and Dennis were sitting on an old couch in the corner of Adriano’s basement. The lights were dim, and there was no sign of a clock. Time didn’t exist in this moment. They were both extremely high and moderately drunk on the luke warm stolen beer that they had pilfered earlier on in the night. 

They were talking about something outrageously stupid, so stupid Dennis can barely remember what it was. Something about Bruce Willis’ physique in Die Hard and how he could _never_ have actually pulled those stunts off. 

Mac had fallen quiet and was staring up at the ceiling, he was leaning against Dennis. His body soft and warm. Dennis had heard Mac murmur something but couldn’t quite make it out. 

“What was that?” Dennis had asked, mumbling a bit himself.

“I asked you, what do you think will happen to us when we get older?” Mac repeated himself, glancing over at Dennis without fully moving his neck. The light caught the tops of Mac’s cheekbones as he looked over at Dennis.

Dennis let out a sound that was a peculiar mixture of a sigh and a laugh. 

“Like _us_ , us, or like the gang us?” Dennis asked, answering Mac’s question with a question.

“Both” Mac had said simply, letting out a sigh of his own, his hair flopped into his face as he shrugged himself further into the couch. 

Dennis had stopped to think for a moment. He glanced over at Mac, realizing how close they were on the small couch for the first time. He honestly didn’t know how to answer that. 

Dennis had leaned over to brush Mac’s hair out of his eyes, not really thinking about it. Mac’s eyes snapped up to his and looked at Dennis like he was waiting.

Dennis sighed again, tired. “I honestly don’t know man. But we’re going to do it together, and that’s all that matters”.

Mac had smiled and reached out to Dennis in his fuzzy state. His warm fingers wrapped around Dennis’ just for a moment, and he squeezed tight. 

Dennis looked at him and opened his mouth to say something. He still doesn’t know what because at that moment Adriano stomped over to them.

“Hey dirt bags, get the hell off of my couch. Nobody here invited you” Adriano looked down at them, sitting too close on his furniture.

“I already kicked out your aluminum sister and your friend who eats worms, go find them” Adriano added before crossing his arms and glaring at them. 

So, Mac and Dennis had left to go find Dee and Charlie. Dennis still wonders what would have happened if they hadn’t been interrupted. 

 

Dennis wakes up on the couch and squints around the room. Sunlight streams into his eyes from the windows and his head screams. Why does his back hurt so much?

Oh yeah. It’s not 1994, and he is what the kids call ‘old’. Why the hell did he dream about that party? That car ride? Why does Mac have to haunt him even in his fucking dreams?

Suddenly the night before comes back to him. The Rainbow, getting drunk and snorting pills in a bath room, the eyes of a stranger. Not Mac’s eyes, not his body, not his anything. Mac looking at him like he didn’t even know him. 

_Shit_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! I haven't updated this fic in a hot minute, like 6 months. But I plan to update regularly. 
> 
> If you caught the Syd ref then you know what's up. I highly recommend listening to 'Ivy' by Frank Ocean to enjoy this fic to its fullest.
> 
> Find me @macdentrash on Tumblr.


	4. Broke Your Heart Last Week

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I apologize in advance for all of the angst. Dennis is extremely hard to write without a boat load of self-loathing. 
> 
> _I broke your heart last week  
>  You'll probably feel better by the weekend  
> Still remember, had you going crazy  
> Scream my name  
> The feeling deep down is good_

Head still pounding like a motherfucker, Dennis pulls himself off of the couch although his back does make a sound comparable to that of a stick snapping in half. _Well that can’t be good_. 

He drags himself into the kitchen and starts a pot of coffee. Mac must really be pissed because there is no fresh coffee brewing as it normally would if he was in Mac’s good graces. Mac would have been in the kitchen, would have given Dennis a warm smile and an all too cheery ‘good morning’. Instead, all Dennis has is a pounding headache, an aching back, and cold tile underneath his feet to start another miserable day.

Where is Mac anyways? Dennis asks himself as he glances around the apartment. He must have left early (something that is almost unheard of as Mac is a notoriously heavy sleeper) to go to the gym or Charlie’s, or anywhere that he didn’t have to even look in Dennis’ direction. 

_God_ when did Mac become so fucking melodramatic? When had Dennis? Why were they both so caught up in this thing between them? For so long they had maintained a balance that one couldn’t necessarily call _healthy_ , but it had at least been bearable. They had gotten along, had been inseparable, ‘two codependent losers’ as Dee had called it. The unspoken tension between them had been a catalyst, as well as a deterrent for the very being of Mac and Dennis’ tumultuous relationship. 

He hates Mac so much right now he always has in a way. He hates Mac because he always has to poke, and prod, and _push_ Dennis. He hates Mac because he knows him better than anyone else. 

When you have known somebody for so fucking long that it feels like it will never end, they get to know in sinisterly intimate ways. They know who you are when you have to put on a face for the world. They know who you are when you’re drunk, when you’re having the best day of your life, and they know you when you’re cruel. All of this knowing leads to a level of personal understanding that Dennis does not want to have with another human being, not ever, not in a million lifetimes on this shit rock floating through space. 

At the core of it, Dennis hates Mac because he doesn’t hate him. Not really. Despite of it all. 

Dennis had settled on the floor while he was mulling over all of this _hate, love, infinite wisdom of the universe_ bullshit, he feels like he’s back in high school listening to ‘The Cure’, all of this philosophizing. He pulls himself up and heads to his room to get dressed for what he is sure will be a fantastically mediocre day. 

After Dennis is done taking an exorbitant amount of time to get his concealer _just right_ , he hops in the Range Rover and is heading in the direction of Paddy’s, as if some kind of incredibly depressing, alcoholic magnet is drawing him ever closer. 

Dennis doesn’t want to admit it to himself, and would never say it aloud if pressed, but today he feels like he is drawn towards the bar because he is trying to find Mac, rather than wanting to get buzzed on mid-grade beer at 11:30 AM. Although that second part doesn’t sound too bad right now either. He feels a strange current of anxiety pass through him as he parks the Range Rover, slightly askew, by the curb in front of the bar. He heaves a large, very gay, sigh before climbing out of the car and heading towards the bar.

The sun is too bright for his hungover brain and tired eyes to handle, he squints as he treads a slow and heavy path towards their shanty of an establishment. A light wind rustles his hair, and even that is an irritation. Dennis rolls his eyes to himself as he opens the door to Paddy’s and heads inside.

Blissfully, nobody turns to look at him as he walks in. The rest of the gang is huddled around the bar near the office. They’re murmuring something to each other. That can’t be a good sign. Dennis saunters towards them and tries to catch a word or two but the gang falls silent as he draws closer. 

“Why are you guys being so secretive?” Dennis asks them, casting his eyes over them all, weighing their sins individually in his head.

“Oh, why nothing! How are you on this fine morning Dennis?” Charlies asks in a voice that is an octave or two higher than his normal speaking voice.

“I’m…fine. Something is definitely up though because Charlie only uses his polite, British lady voice when he’s trying to be subtle. Which is definitely not working by the way” Dennis finishes, giving Charlie a brief glare.

“We’re just talking about a new scheme that Mac hatched up is all” Frank says, barely sparing a glance in Dennis’ direction. 

For the first time since he walked in, Dennis dares to glance over at Mac, as Frank had given him appropriate allowance to do so. He’s wearing a plain black t-shirt and jeans, but the shirt is _way_ too tight. It’s ridiculous, you can see every muscle in his upper arms and chest for Christ’s sake. In this moment, Dennis truly believes that Mac’s arms should be illegal. 

Dennis stops staring at Mac long enough to direct a question in his general direction “And what scheme is that?”.

“Mac came up with this sweet idea” Charlie starts, “you remember way back when we did the gay bar scheme?”.

“ _Yes_ ” Dennis bites out.  
“Yeah well, we were thinking that we abandoned that idea way too quickly, and Mac has an idea to make a shit load of money” Charlie says, wiggling his eyebrows excitedly as he speaks.

“We abandoned that plan for a reason” Dennis says, not directed at anyone in particular.

“No, _you_ abandoned it because of your ‘experiment’” Mac speaks for the first time since Dennis came in.

“Goddamnit, it’s been over _ten fucking years_ , stop saying experiment like that” Dennis shoots back immediately. Mac just rolls his eyes and avoids eye contact. 

“Dennis, this place is going to shit, and we need to try something different, I am sick and tired of being stuck in this place with sad, alcoholic old men all day” Dee hisses. 

“And what? Last time you got pissed because I got more tips than you, you voted to stop being a gay bar” Dennis contradicts.

“Well times change Dennis, we’re doing the gay bar thing” Dee says, taking a sip of a beer. 

“Good luck with that” Dennis says, not sparing them a glance as he goes into the back to organize boxes, he could stand to be alone for a while.

He does this for about an hour, not really giving a shit where anything goes. If he just pays attention to placing the boxes in sections, lining up the corners just right. If his world shrinks down to the edges of carboard peeling off into his hands in flakes, he doesn’t have to think about anything else. 

He finds himself wishing that Mac would come to check on him, like he usually would. But Mac is fed up with him, the world is sick and tired of Dennis Reynolds. He hates that that’s what he wants, wants someone there to check in on him. Despite what Dennis may tell himself and everyone else, deep down he hates being alone. But he’s too fucking terrified of any alternative to change anything. Dennis will isolate himself until there’s no one left to give a shit.

After a while, Dennis grows tired of monotonously organizing stock (who would have thought?), and begrudgingly heads back into the main area of the bar. 

The gang have dispersed in the time he was gone. Charlie and Mac have moved to the opposite end of the bar and are giggling over Mac’s phone (Dennis hates the pang of jealousy that hits his gut at this), and Frank seems to have fallen asleep in one of the booths. Dee is just gone, nowhere to be seen. 

Dennis ducks behind the bar and opens himself a beer. Even the label on this stupid drink reminds him of Mac, they always drank a different brand than the rest of the gang. 

Once he has taken a deep pull, he mentally prepares himself and walks over to Mac and Charlie. Dennis runs a hand through his hair and glances at them.  
“What’s so funny over here?” Dennis asks. He is trying to come off as casual but ends up sounding more like a middle-aged dad, he cringes internally.

Charlie briefly looks at him, eyebrow raised, Mac blatantly ignores him and keeps pawing at his phone with his hands. For a moment Dennis is enraptured just at the sight of Mac’s hands, he wonders how they can be so large yet hold the ability to be so tender. Dennis remembers what it was like when Mac would touch him all the time, when he wasn’t afraid to be close to him. He pushes this thought away and looks at Charlie questioningly. 

“Mac is showing me how all these dating apps work. Tindra, grind, all of ‘em” Charlie says, either not knowing or caring that he has butchered the names of both apps he seems to be learning so much about.

Dennis heart leaps into his throat at the words _dating apps_. He immediately imagines Mac going out, night after night, leaving Dennis alone in his own self-pity. Mac kissing beautiful men who aren’t afraid to be kind, visualizes Mac falling in love and leaving for good.

Dennis tries not to choke, “And why the fuck you do that?” he asks, more malice leaking into his words than originally intended. At this Mac glances up at him, a strange mixture of concern and annoyance showing on his face.

“Why do you care Dennis?” Mac asks, glancing back down at his phone.

“I-I don’t. Clearly. Just curious, that’s all” Dennis says, failing at his attempt at nonchalance. 

“Clearly. If you have to know, we’re doing research for the scheme” Mac says, pointedly not looking up.

“What kind of research?” Dennis inquires, not liking where this is going.

“Mac is trying to find hot guys to bang so we can get the word out about gay Paddy’s” Charlie interjects.

Mac elbows Charlie lights and a light blush spreads across his cheeks.  
“Shut up Charlie” Mac says, annoyed.

“Well, it’s what we’re doing” Charlie says, glancing over Mac’s shoulder to look at his phone. “What about that one, he seems like your type” Charlie says, pointing at the photo that must be on Mac’s screen. 

“Yeah, we’ll see” Mac says.

At this, Dennis walks away. He doesn’t need to hear any more of this. What he needs is to get is drunk, and away from this situation. 

He pours himself a shot of cheap vodka, and then another, and then two more. He sits down at the bar and lets his thoughts drift away.

They all stay until the bar closes, none of them having anywhere better to be. Charlie and Mac hang out most of the day, scheming. Frank sleeps for a while and then heads into the back to cook the books, and Dee never reappears which is suspicious.

At the end of the night, Dennis drives Mac and himself home. The radio is the only sound in the car other than the faint street sounds they pass on their way.

They make it all the way into the apartment without speaking, a heavy tension between them. Neither knows what to say, or if they even want to mend the gap in the first place. In fact, Dennis has his hand on the knob of his bedroom door when he turns around to look at Mac who has settled down on the couch and is currently leaning for the remote. 

“What is this about?” Dennis asks. He almost hopes that Mac won’t hear him, but he knows he’s fucked when Mac tilts his head to look at him. 

“What is what about Dennis?” Mac asks, he sounds tired but there’s a hint of irritation just below the surface. 

“Today. Your scheme that you hatched up? Are you trying to bother me? Because if so, don’t bother wasting your time. 

At this Mac stands up wordlessly. He holds Dennis’ gaze as he walks towards him, his eyes steely. 

Mac doesn’t stop moving forward until he and Dennis are practically chest to chest. The closest they have been in Dennis’ recent memory. Dennis hates himself when his skin tingles with electricity where they’re brushing together, he hates himself when his breath catches in his throat.

Mac leans in close, so close that it would be so easy, so so easy, to close the space between them. To melt together like they used to in moments of weakness, of drunken lust. Dennis just holds Mac’s gaze, allowing him to decide where this is going.

Mac takes in a deep breath, when he exhales Dennis can feel the warmth of his breath pass over his mouth, he can smell booze and a hint of peppermint gum that Mac had been chewing quietly on the way home. Mac wraps his hand around Dennis’ wrist, swiping his thumb over his pulse point lightly. Dennis can’t remember the last time he took a breath.

When Mac speaks, it’s barely a whisper but Dennis hangs onto every word. 

“God, Dennis. Not everything is about you. I want the bar to get better, I want my life to get better. Did you ever think that maybe I’m trying to move on?”. Mac suddenly looks drained; he drops Dennis’ wrist and moves away. Instead of going back to his spot on the couch, he goes into his room. The door doesn’t slam, but it does close with a certain finality.

As Dennis turns to go into his own room, he realizes something. The answer to Mac’s question is no. He didn’t think that Mac would ever really move on, how could he? Dennis knew that he couldn’t, no matter how much he tried to convince himself otherwise. He feels his stomach turn in on itself as he heads to bed. He’s so lost in thought that he bypasses his skin care routine and falls into bed as soon as he strips off everything but his boxers. 

He dreams of brown eyes, gleaming in the sunlight. His unconscious mind conjures up hands, all over his body. Lips that brush his and then move away, a mystery in their own right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter. Apparently I can only muster up the energy to write at 2:30 AM, so my apologies for any grammatical errors etc. 
> 
> Find me on Tumblr @macdentrash


	5. You'll Probably Feel Better by the Weekend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *Slaps Dennis Reynolds* This baby can fit so much angst inside it. 
> 
> Dennis' gay crisis continues, Mac seems to be moving on, and Dee tells everything like it is. 
> 
>  
> 
> _I broke your heart last week  
>  You'll probably feel better by the weekend  
> Still remember, had you going crazy  
> Scream my name  
> The feeling deep down is good_

Dennis wakes up suddenly, his breath in his throat. He gulps in a few deep breaths of air and tries to calm his heart rate down through sheer will power and the breathing technique that Dee had taught him when they were in high school that always seems to at least minimally decrease the impact of his panic attacks. In, _1, 2, 3_ , breathe, in _1, 2, 3_ , breathe. After doing this for a couple of minutes, his heart rate is at a stable speed and he starts to mentally process what had thrown him into such a state of anxiety.

He tries to recall the dream that he was having right before he woke up. He vaguely remembers having a fitful sleep, he knows that he dreamt of Mac… he pushes the though aside. He concentrates and a glimpse of the dream that he had been having swims into the front of his mind. The memory is hazy and fragmented, but it is coming back to him.

He had been standing on the edge of a tall building, looking down at the busy streets below. The people blurred together, each individual bleeding into the next. The sounds of honking and yelling from taxi drivers was overwhelming. Nothing felt stable. The light had an iridescent quality, and he had felt a strange mixture of fear and euphoria. In his dream, he had known that he had to jump. There was no other option. He stepped out into the thin air and hurtled towards the ground. He felt neither fear nor joy. And then he had woken up, the sounds of street life and rushing wind filling up his senses, narrowly avoiding the incoming collision. 

Dennis scratches his head as he stares at his ceiling, wondering why this dream had impacted him so much. He lays there for a while, recalling the rush of air as he grew closer to the pavement below, before he shakes his head and rolls out of bed. 

He rushes through his routine and is surprisingly out of the shower and dressed within only half an hour. Dennis is even more surprised when he walks out of his bedroom and sees Mac, he had expected him to hurry off early again. But then again, Mac had seemed pretty angry last night so maybe he didn’t feel like running off just to avoid Dennis. Dennis is fearful when he thinks that maybe Mac just doesn’t care enough to even put in the energy to avoid Dennis anymore. Dennis had felt like an asshole after Mac told him off last night. He does have a habit of making things about himself, but was it really so hard to believe that Mac would start this whole gay Paddy’s scheme just to get to Dennis? Mac had clearly been infatuated with Dennis for years, just because he had been closeted for so long, didn’t mean that his feelings weren’t obvious to Dennis and everyone else in the gang.  
Mac barely glances over his shoulder when he hears Dennis come out from his room, he immediately goes back to scrolling through his phone and absentmindedly sipping from his coffee mug. Dennis decides to pull the same act and doesn’t even spare Mac a glance as he walks over to the cupboard, pulling out a mug of his own. They decidedly do not look at each other through Dennis filling his mug and sitting down across from Mac at their kitchen table. Two grown men playing the silent game while they sit in an apartment that they have shared for multiple decades is ridiculous, and Dennis can recognize that on some level in the logical part of his brain. Unfortunately, Mac and critical thinking do not share the same space in Dennis’ brain. 

Mac sighs and Dennis knows that he is going to speak, he prepares himself mentally to have a snide comeback ready for whatever Mac says. 

“This coffee kind of sucks” Mac says. All of the tension and drama that Dennis was mentally preparing for immediately disappears from his mind. 

Dennis lets out a small laugh without meaning to.  
“Yeah, it kind of does. You’re probably only saying that because we’re out of creamer” Dennis says, eyeing Mac’s coffee which sure enough is black. 

Mac rolls his eyes.  
“It’s not my fault that black coffee tastes like actual ass. I wouldn’t even be drinking it if I wasn’t so fucking tired” Mac says, rolling his eyes, a small smile playing at the corners of his lips. 

Dennis huffs out a small laugh, not saying anything. Mac looks up from where his eyes have been tracing the rim of his coffee cup and him and Dennis finally look at each other dead in the eye. Dennis sees a flicker of something in Mac’s eye as he looks at him, and it slowly dissipates as the hint of a smile fades from his lips. Mac glances down at the table again, avoiding eye contact. The bit of amicable conversation is gone and a stony silence pervades the space between them. 

God, Dennis wishes this was easy. When had it stopped being so easy between them? Being with Mac used to feel as natural as breathing, spending time together wasn’t a question, it was a constant. But now? He feels like nothing will ever be the same again. Mac had finally become self-aware enough that he knew that he and Dennis weren’t just really good bros. The problems came with the expectation, the expectation that Dennis would do the same. That Dennis would be able to handle a change in the relationship that had been his foundation for the last several years of his life. Dennis knows different, knows that he is probably too much of a coward to do anything about it. 

Mac suddenly stands up from the table, almost as if he can sense Dennis’ thoughts. He looks as if he has been stung. He nervously runs a hand through his hair and steps back from the table. 

“I think I’m going to head over to Charlie’s place for a while. I’ll, um, see you at work later Dennis” Mac says, as he heads towards the door. He pulls on a pair of shoes and rushes out the door, he seems like he can’t get away from Dennis fast enough. 

As soon as Mac is out of his sight, Dennis slumps over in his chair with his head in his hands. The sound of air rushing past him is drowning out his ears, he thinks he can hear a faint ringing. He shakes his head and pushes himself up from the table with what strength he has. _It’s going to be a long day_.

 

Later Dennis finds himself where he always seems to end up, behind the bar at Paddy’s. He has three shots lined up in front of him and he downs each one faster than the last. The cheap vodka doesn’t go down smoothly, and his chest burns. He savors the feeling as he stares into space, his mind finally clear of all thought and feeling. That is until his wretch of a sister meanders up to the bar and makes a tsking noise as she reaches out two long fingers to flick one of the shot glasses, a resounding _clink_ ensues and the sound bounces around in his skull for a moment before he looks up to glare at her.

Mac and Charlie haven’t found their way into work yet and Frank is in the back office sleeping, so the twins are the only ones occupying the main bar aside from a couple of stray bums that had wandered in around noon. 

“What do you want Deandra?” Dennis asks, putting a tilting accent on for the tail end of her name in the same way as their mother.

Dee squints her eyes at him like she is deciding how hard she wants to smack him. She lets her face relax before letting out a sigh. 

“What’s wrong Dennis?” Dee asks in a tired voice. She doesn’t seem to be mocking him which is throwing Dennis off. 

“What makes you think something is wrong? Can’t a man enjoy getting drunk in his own bar without an investigation?” Dennis throws back, with a lot less venom in his voice than he would have liked. 

“Yeah, no, you do that every day. This just seems… different. For one you usually only drink beer this early, and secondly you look like your about to snap. Not that I’m entirely opposed to that, watching you lose your shit is insanely hilarious, but I don’t really feel like being murdered today. So again, what’s wrong?” Dee asks. 

He hates how clearly Dee can see through him. They may not be super close anymore, but they do still have that weird twin connection that Dennis has always equally despised and cherished. 

“It’s this whole thing with Mac. Every time we’re together now, it’s just so…” Dennis trails off, not knowing how to put it into words. He quickly pours himself another shot and smiles as the burn fills his throat. 

“Awkward?” Dee offers up, glancing at Dennis from across the bar. 

Dennis snaps his fingers, albeit sloppily as a result of his numerous shots of cheap vodka, and points at his sister.  
“That’s exactly it. It’s so fucking _awkward_ with him now. It used to be so easy before-“Dennis cuts off mid-sentence due to the way that Dee is staring at him. 

“What? Why are you looking at me like that?” Dennis asks suspiciously. 

Dee can hardly stop herself from laughing right in his face.  
“Dennis. It is just so obvious. It’s laughable that you can’t see it. I’m not trying to make fun of you, well okay, maybe I am a little bit but c’mon. You’re telling me that you really don’t get what’s changed here?” Dee asks him, readying herself for her brother to fall into a fit of rage as he is known to do. 

Dennis looks at her, puzzled. His eyebrows are knit together like he is trying to solve a really intricate math problem.  
“No Dee, I don’t. I mean, I have been thinking about it. I’m not an idiot. Mac has been in love with me forever, we all know this, but ever since he came out… I don’t know things are just weird. It’s like he expects me to follow him right out of the closet, proclaiming my love or some shit” Dennis says. He’s exasperated thinking about all of this and his hand itches to grab the bottle of vodka that is close to empty at this point. He thinks better of it and allows the tips of his fingers to lightly tap against the bar. 

“See, you’re like halfway there already. I just don’t know how you haven’t put the whole puzzle together yet” Dee says, looking him up and down. 

“Well Dee, if you’re so wise, please go ahead and enlighten me. Please soothe the irritation and fix all of my problems” Dennis says sarcastically, shooting her a look that says _I’m waiting_. 

Dee raises an eyebrow at him. They are two cowboys at high noon, fingers ready to pull their weapons and shoot. 

“You’re sure? Well, alright” Dee says, taking in a deep breath before continuing.  
“The piece of the puzzle that you seem to be missing is that you’ve been in love with Mac just as long as he’s been following you around. The only thing that’s changed is Mac is starting to find himself, to really be proud of who he is. And you? You’re the same. Hell, your regressing. It’s as if he’s growing and you’re shrinking away into nothing. It’s honestly quite sad” Dee says. She looks at Dennis as if she is waiting for him to have a melt-down, you can never be too prepared when it comes to Dennis’ emotions. 

Dennis splutters, he is at a loss for words. “I- I am _not_ in love with Mac. C’mon Dee you should know how ridiculous that sounds” Dennis says, for some reason his heart is racing, and he can feel blood filling up his cheeks. He shouldn’t have to be having this conversation right now. 

“Dennis. My brother. My twin. Please listen, you sound so fucking repressed it’s ridiculous. Like you said, you always knew Mac was in love with you. You played into it, hell we all see the way you look at him. We have a running bet going on how long this is all going to play out. You’re the one who has gotten all distant since Mac came out of the closet. I’m just telling you how it looks from my perspective” Dee says. She leans across the counter and unscrews a beer, taking a deep pull.

“Whatever Dee, you don’t know shit” Dennis says, it comes out faintly. 

Dee turns around and starts to walk away from him. He holds out a middle finger towards her back. Without looking she flips him off right back. 

Dennis was going to let it go but he opens his mouth to say “Dee, I am not in love with M-“, but he is cut off when the door to Paddy’s swings open with a clatter. His mouth zips shut, and he wonders how loudly he had been talking. 

“Dude no, I’m telling you this is so going to work” Charlie is saying happily as he and Mac bound through the door. Dennis can feel a pang of unwarranted jealousy ping around in his stomach as he grabs the bottle of vodka and pours another shaky shot. 

Mac and Charlie sit down on the bar stools by the door, chatting to themselves. Mac seems unbothered after the events of that morning. He’s sure Mac already has a bunch of dates set up for the gay Paddy’s scheme. He tries not to think about that too much. 

Dennis hadn’t really absorbed what Mac was wearing this morning due to the tension in the room, but he sees now that Mac is in a rainbow tank top and his blue pants. He can tell that he is wearing combat boots due to the thud that results from Mac kicking the bar as he sits on the stool. 

The day goes roughly the same as the day before. Mac and Charlie keep to themselves, talking over Mac’s phone about the scheme. Frank stays in the office for most of the night, and Dee disappears in the late evening. Dennis serves the few customers that drift in and out, while keeping himself in a steady supply of alcohol as well. He watches Mac’s face as he smiles with Charlie, their friendship easy. Dennis ignores how his stomach twists up, and he tries to bat away thoughts about how things used to be. 

 

After a drive home with Mac in suffering silence, Dennis collapses on their couch. Mac heads into his room. Dennis closes his eyes and rubs at his eyelids until bursts of color appear behind them. He imagines what Mac is doing in the darkness of his bedroom. Is he peeling off his clothes, skin draped in moonlight? Reading his bible? Using his fucking _bike_? Faintly, he thinks he hears a shower running. In his head he hears the sounds of rushing air overlapped with Dee’s voice _you’ve been in love with Mac just as long as he’s been following you around_.

Dennis is torn out of his thoughts a few minutes later when Mac emerges from his room. His hair is wet, looking mussed up from where he must have run a towel through it moments before. Dennis feels the impulse to reach out and smooth it out but ignores his thoughts. 

Dennis expects Mac to take his spot on the couch next to him and is surprised when instead Mac turns towards the door, nosing a pair of shoes with his foot. He’s wearing that god awful mesh tank top, it barely fits due to how much ‘mass’ Mac has tacked on lately, along with some tight jeans that must be new. He looks like he’s going out.

“Are you going out?” Dennis asks. He sounds small from his place on the couch.

Mac glances over at him. “Yeah, how could you tell?” Mac asks sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

“Where to?” Dennis asks, afraid of the answer he might get in return. 

“The Rainbow. I have a date from one of those dating apps, for the scheme you know?” Mac says, looking at Dennis but not meeting his eyes.

Without meaning to, Dennis finds himself standing. “Uh huh, for the scheme” he says, eyes boring into Mac, pinning him where he stands by the front door.

“Why do you care Dennis?” Mac asks tiredly, making a move as if to leave. 

Mac has been asking Dennis that a lot lately, why he cares.

“I don’t, care that is” Dennis says. He still takes a step towards the door as he speaks. As much he doesn’t want to admit it, he doesn’t want Mac to go. Doesn’t want him to get lost in the pulsing lights of the club, being closer to some stranger than he’s been to Dennis in what seems like forever.

“Good” Mac says, it comes out almost as a whisper. 

They stand there, just staring at each other. A strange feeling floods the room. They don’t say anything and neither of them makes a move. 

Mac opens his mouth to speak, surely he is going to try to fill up the space with words. Mac thinks that words will fix things. Dennis knows that words don’t really mean anything a lot of the time, action is what really matters. With this thought in mind, Dennis closes the space between them, striding forward. He is still a little tipsy from drinking all day at the bar, but he isn’t drunk enough to not know what he’s doing. He’s not drunk enough to deny whatever happens the next morning. 

When Dennis is close enough to Mac that they can see each other’s breaths filling up and deflating their chests, Mac quickly inhales. Dennis doesn’t lean in slowly; it is not a soft thing when he closes the space between them. Dennis moves quickly, he pushes Mac up against the wall and smashes their lips together. It is an angry thing. He uses all of the pent-up frustration to grind his mouth against Mac’s. His hands hold Mac’s face in place. Mac freezes up at first, in shock before he grabs Dennis’ hips and flips their bodies around. He pushes Dennis into the wall, now the one with the upper hand. He kisses Dennis dirty and sweet until a whine escapes out of the back of Dennis’ throat. Mac curls his hands through Dennis’ hair and pulls, _once, twice, three times_ and each time he lets go Dennis’ head falls lightly back against the wall until Mac just holds him in place. 

Mac stops kissing Dennis and Dennis chases his mouth. Mac puts a finger to Dennis’ lips, as if to shush him. He bites into Dennis’ neck, alternating between biting and sucking until there are angry little red marks all over Dennis’ neck. 

Mac stops working on Dennis’ neck and gives him one last kiss, dirty enough that Dennis knows he’ll think about it for days. Then Mac stops completely and just rests his forehead against Dennis’, they both keep their eyes closed and let their breathing even out.

Mac opens his eyes and Dennis does the same. They awkwardly shuffle away from each other. Neither of them says anything as Mac hurriedly grabs his shoes and rushes out the door without even bothering to put them on first.

Dennis lets out a deep breath as the sound of the door closing fills the room. He brushes his fingertips lightly against his lips, electricity whirring there, wondering what the fuck he’d just done.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find me @macdentrash on Tumblr to chat about Macdennis or submit your prompt requests.


	6. I Could See You're Faking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang works on their 'Gay Paddy's' scheme, which may or may not include fake dating, and it doesn't go entirely as planned. Mac and Dennis start to work things out between them. There is adult content towards the end of the chapter so beware if that is not your thing!
> 
>  
> 
> _If I could see through walls, I could see you're faking  
>  If you could see my thoughts you would see our faces_

Dennis wakes up suddenly, he clutches his hand to his chest as he takes in ragged breath after ragged breath. The sounds of rushing air and honking cars fill up his senses. He had that dream again. He goes through the motions of breathing in and out, _in, and out_. 

Once his breathing has stabilized, he takes the hand from his chest and rubs his forehead, he’s stretched out across his bed and he realizes that he must look like a Victorian woman who just found out that her husband had died in some great war, all he needs is a handkerchief clutched in hand to complete the look. He rolls his eyes at himself and drags himself out of bed. 

The events of the night before come rushing back to him so quickly that he is almost knocked back on the bed. He had kissed Mac, he had kissed his best friend and it had been… amazing, electrifying, everything that he had ever wanted… and then of course, Mac had run out the door.

Dennis laughs to himself; it seems like one of them is always running away whether that be in a metaphorical sense or the literal sense of last night. The image of Mac rushing out the door, shoes in hand comes to the forefront of Dennis’ mind. One of them is always fucking running away, never letting the situation resolve itself. 

Dennis drags himself through his routine; shower, moisturize, cleanse his face, moisturize again, blow dry his hair, comb his hair, style his hair, get dressed, try to give a fuck about the events of the day that are undoubtedly going to unfold whether he likes it or not (and he definitely does not), etcetera.

After Dennis is done getting himself ready to face the world at large, he goes into the kitchen to get some coffee. He is sure another long day is ahead of him. Once Dennis has his coffee and sits down at the table, his mind starts to wander in the direction it usually does if he allows himself to idle for long enough: Mac, of course, it’s always Mac. 

Dennis had gone to bed right after Mac had ran out last night, he hadn’t had the energy for anything else. But he had not had an uninterrupted sleep. He would have heard if Mac came home, and Mac did not come home. He was probably out all night with whatever ‘date’ he had found on Grindr or whatever the fuck app he had been giggling about with Charlie all day yesterday. Dennis’ stomach coils up very tight and then the coil sinks lower and lower until all he feels is a pit of melancholic yearning deep inside. His head hurts from trying to process too many emotions. He imagines what Mac had gotten up to, dancing against neon lights, the arms of a stranger seeming easier to fall into than trying to deal with Dennis.   
Dennis tries to shake the thoughts away; he stands up and heads out the door. His coffee left on the table, barely touched. 

 

When Dennis walks into Paddy’s, he is surprised to see that the rest of the gang has already assembled. Frank is talking animatedly, gesturing with his hands. Dee appears to be feigning interest while Charlie messes with the electrical box (in the back of his mind, Dennis hopes that they are not having any serious electrical problems). Dennis’ eyes linger on Mac as he leans against the bar. He looks good, well he always looks good but today he looks exceptional. He is wearing a yellow t-shirt that hugs his glamour muscles in all the rights spots (which these days, is everywhere) and the color reminds him of their ‘Honey and Vinegar’ costumes. Dennis’ chest tightens as he thinks of holding Mac’s face in his hands, _do that for me, okay baby boy?_. 

Dennis is still staring at Mac when Mac glances up from watching Frank and finally sees Dennis. Mac’s cheeks flush and Dennis knows that Mac is thinking about that kiss from last night. Mac’s eyes trail down to Dennis’ lips before he looks away, cheeks still flushed, and returns his gaze to Frank. 

Tuning in to what Frank is saying, Dennis hears “So do we all understand the plan?”.  
Frank has stopped speaking and is raising his arms up and down as if he expects them to break into applause at his rousing speech. Everyone but Dennis nods. 

Dennis walks over to where Dee is sat at the bar.

“What the hell is going on here?” Dennis asks her, genuinely curious.

“We’re going to some fancy hotel to get a jump on this gay Paddy’s scheme” Dee tells him, giving him a pointed look when she says the word ‘gay’. 

Dennis narrows his eyes at her.   
“Why?” He asks. 

“I don’t know! Something about investors or some shit, just play your part and this will all be fine” Dee hisses at him. 

Dennis has no idea what his part in all of this, but he is sure that he is about to find out. 

 

And find out he does. After a cramped drive in the Range Rover, Dennis parks in front of the Rittenhouse Hotel. Dennis has never been here, but he knows that it is one of the best hotels in Philly. 

The gang all climb out the car and start walking towards the door with purpose. Dennis still has no idea what the fuck is going on. He is still standing by the car when he realizes that his friends are not going to wait for him, he starts jogging behind them until he catches up. Nobody says a word. Right before they go through the bourgeois doors of the hotel, Frank turns to them and says in a hushed whisper “Charlie and I are going to go meet with the investors, the rest of you know what to do”. The rest of the gang nod in unison and they all walk through the doors. 

Charlie and Frank immediately head through the room and turn left when they reach the concierge desk, they head down a large hallway and disappear into a room. Dennis turns to Mac and Dee who are already starting to walk in the opposite direction of Frank and Charlie.

“Guys” Dennis hisses, not sure why he is whispering. The concierge gives him a strange look and Mac and Dee barely halt when they look over at him. He hurries to catch up with them.

“What are we doing here? How is this part of the scheme?” Dennis asks. He walks in between Mac and Dee, his and Mac’s arms brush as they walk.

“So, Frank and Charlie are going to meet some hot shot investors who are looking to tap into the gay market. You, me and Dee are going to help convince them” Mac says, also ‘whispering’ (although his form of whispering is basically shouting in a hushed tone). 

Dennis is grateful that he has a better idea of what he is walking into, he shoots Mac a wide smile without thinking about it and then quickly turns to look at Dee.

“And how are we supposed to convince them to invest in our gay bar that technically exists but not really?” Dennis asks, still confused on what exactly they are going to be doing. 

“We’re going to be the ‘prize gays’ as Frank so lovingly put it” Dee says in a normal tone of voice.

Dennis stops walking and crosses his arms.   
“ _What?_ ” He asks angrily. 

Mac and Dee both roll their eyes at him.   
“It’s really not that hard to understand. You and Mac are going to reprise your roles as Hugh Honey and Vic Vinegar, and I’m Prudence your lesbian sister. Together we are unstoppable gays who _will_ get the investor’s money” Dee says, she says it so simply like this whole thing should have been obvious to Dennis.

Dennis starts walking again, relaxing his arms. A character, he can play a character. His eyes flick over Mac again as they walk. He wonders if he wore that shirt on purpose, if he knew this was happening and just didn’t feel the need to clue Dennis in. The color really does match exactly with their blazers. He wonders if that blazer would even fit Mac now that he’s gained so much muscle mass. He tries to keep his smile to himself as he remembers the times that he and Mac played Hugh Honey and Vic Vinegar, partners in real estate (and partners in life).

Dennis doesn’t have to long to dwell on these thoughts as Mac and Dee come up short in front of a room with a large mahogany door. They must have known this plan because they seem to know the hotel pretty well. 

“Where are we? Frank and Charlie went to meet with the investors on the other end of the hotel” Dennis asks. 

“It’s just a really big conference room, we just came this way so that we can make a dramatic entrance, as we are trying to do this in style, with flamboyance” Dee says, clearly annoyed. 

Dennis rolls his eyes. Mac nudges Dennis’ arm and Dennis looks over at him, raising an eyebrow. 

“We’re going to need these to make this convincing” he says, rummaging around in his pockets. He pulls out two silver rings, clearly cheaply made when you look up close. He holds out one to Dennis and gives him a big smile. Dennis avoids Mac’s eyes as he grabs the ring and shoves it onto his finger. He silently hopes that there won’t be a green ring around it when he takes the damned thing off later. 

Mac holds his hand out to Dennis and Dennis gives him a confused look. Mac rolls his eyes and grabs Dennis’ hand. Dennis understands when Mac weaves their fingers together and squeezes.

“Listen” Dee says, pointing a long finger at the wooden door. 

They fall quiet, they can hear Frank’s voice faintly.

“We just have to wait for the signal before we go in” Dee says, voice hushed.

“The signal? What signal?” Dennis asks before Dee shushes him.

Distantly, they all hear Frank say, “If you don’t believe me, just hear what our LGDT representatives have to say”.

Dee rolls her eyes, “I can’t believe he really said LGBT wrong, you know what never mind, yes I can. Let’s go” she says as she reaches for the door handle. 

Mac gives Dennis’ hand one last squeeze before they all rush through the door, as flamboyantly as possible.

Dee raises her arms over her head and waves them back and forth. Dennis realizes now that she is wearing a flannel, which he is sure was a deliberate choice.   
“What is up you sons of bitches? Are you ready to invest in our gay ass bar or what?” Dee practically yells as she saunters over to a table of men in black suits. Mac and Dennis trail behind, still holding hands. 

“Excuse me ma’am we would prefer it if you could keep your language professional, this is a business meeting” one of the investors says. He is bald and gives Dee a stern look.

Dee scoffs. “That’s just homophobic” she says as she takes a seat at the table, the only woman in the room. 

Mac and Dennis share a knowing look as they join Dee at the table. 

“Yes, this is our bartender Prudence. She, as you can see, is a lesbian” Frank says, gesturing towards Dee.

“I see” says the bald investor who seems to be a leader of the group.   
“And who might I ask are these gentlemen?” he asks as he nods towards Mac and Dennis.

“They you see are Hugh Honey and Vic Vinegar. Hugh and Vic run a successful real estate business and are wealthy homosexuals who have taken an interest in the project” Frank says without missing a beat.

Dennis’ face heats up as everybody in the room turns to evaluate them. Mac squeezes his hand again and turns up his blinding smile to sun level intensity. Dennis can’t help but feel thankful as Mac addresses the group for them. Dennis just holds out hope that Mac won’t bring up the words ‘power bottom’ in the conversation. 

“Yes, Hugh and I think that Paddy’s Pub is a terrific establishment and investing in their new endeavor will make us all more better, y’know, financially and what not…” Mac trails off and he glances around the room, not at all subtly. 

Another businessman clears his throat awkwardly and all the eyes in the room turn towards him. 

“I think that we may have seen enough here” the investor starts, clearly harboring disdain for the entire meeting.

“Wait, wait, wait. Hear us out” Dennis hears the words come out of his mouth but has not fully processed that he is the one who said them until everyone is staring at him. He clears his throat and just focuses on Mac’s warm hand as it sits in his. 

“Paddy’s may _seem_ like a run-down shit hole of a bar, but it has promise and let me tell you why” Dennis pauses, trying to think of reasons that Paddy’s should be invested in.

“It is the kind of place that makes you feel at home as soon as you walk through the doors. It is being refurbished to bring in a more diverse crowd and has tremendous potential. My husband and I, “ Dennis pauses, giving Mac a quick look, “are proud to represent this establishment and we hope that you do the same”. 

The room takes this in. Mac smiles at Dennis and runs a reassuring thumb over his pulse point. Dennis focuses on this as his heart beats almost out of his chest. 

The bald man glances across the room at Dennis. 

“Thank you Mr.-Honey, was it? We will take your testimony into consideration” the man says with an air of dismissal. 

They sit in silence for a moment before Dee, Dennis, and Mac realize that they have been cued to leave. They slowly stand and then slink out of the room like cats with their tails between their legs. 

As soon as they are out in the hallway they start walking, fast. They make it back into the main sitting room and stand there for a moment. They all look at each other and break into hysterical laughter.

“Dee” Mac wheezes, “Dee-did you call that bald dude _homophobic_?” Mac asks between fits of laughter.

Dee laughs “Yeah, he deserved it, he shouldn’t have criticized me” she responds.

They all stand there for a second, laughing like actual maniacs before they pull their shit together. Dennis glances down and realizes that he is still holding Mac’s hand, his cheeks flush and he quickly pulls his hand away. Dee glances at Mac and then Dennis. She gives Dennis a smile. 

“Well boners, I’m going to skip out of here, have a good day” Dee says, turning on her heel as she starts to walk away.

“Where are you going? I’m not going to wait around for you to give you a ride” Dennis calls out to his sister.

“None of your business. I don’t need a ride, don’t wait up” Dee calls as she strolls out of the hotel entrance. 

Mac turns to Dennis.   
“Want to see something cool?” Mac asks. His cheeks are still pink from laughing and his hair is fluffy, falling into his eyes. He is looking at Dennis like he is the only thing that exists in the world. Dennis doesn’t know how he could say no, so he doesn’t. 

“Lead the way” he says, giving Mac a small smile.   
Mac grins at him and pulls him by the arm, leading him towards the large elevators. He presses the ‘up’ triangle and the light turns green. Mac taps his feet for a few seconds before the elevator _dings_ and opens up. Mac leads him in and pushes a button. They start climbing higher up in the building.

In the elevator there is only light classical piano filtering through tinny speakers, and the sound of their breathing filling up the small space.

Dennis turns to give Mac a quizzical look.  
“Mac, where are we going?” he asks him.

Dennis’ heart catches in his chest when Mac honest to God winks at him.  
“It’s a surprise” he says, smiling at Dennis. 

 

The surprise turns out to be the roof of the hotel. Mac’s grin is wide as he leads Dennis towards a metal door that reads ‘Roof Access’ in peeling while letters.

Dennis quirks up an eye brow.   
“This is the surprise?” He asks, inquisitive.

“Yeah, no shit” Mac says, smirking at him.

Mac opens the door and leaves Dennis to prop it up as he hurries out onto the roof. Dennis stares as Mac bounds over to the edge, seeming to not have any cares in the world, he has no fear of falling. 

Dennis’ mind flashes to the recurring dream that he’s been having. His eyes squeeze shut as he hurtles towards the ground, the wind is too loud, everything is too much all at once. 

Dennis’ eyes flutter open as Mac calls his name. He shakes his head to clear it from the fog that is trying to lay itself down, the fog recedes and only slightly permeates the edge of his consciousness. Suddenly his stomach drops at the idea of looking down at the street below, he doesn’t want to deal with the nausea that he can feel coming on. 

Mac squints at him through the light, waiting for Dennis to join him. 

Dennis focuses on Mac, not the potential fall he could take, as he steps over a brick lying by the door and allows the door to close behind him. 

Dennis makes his way to where Mac is standing, Mac smiles at him as he comes to stand by his side.

“Isn’t this a great view, Den?” Mac asks softly, pulling out the nickname that Dennis hasn’t heard in years.

Dennis looks at the skyline, decidedly avoiding the streets below. It is a fantastic view; you can see the city in all of its glory. From up here you can’t see the poverty, there are no cracks in the facades of buildings, everything is brand new. Mac doesn’t look too bad either, Dennis thinks to himself as he watches Mac out of the corner of his eye. 

“Yeah, it’s great” Dennis says. They fall into a comfortable silence, looking out over the city together.

Dennis isn’t sure what’s going on with them. Last night had left him breathless and gasping for air, it had left him confused when Mac ran out the door. Although he can’t say that he was surprised. Mac seems happy today, but he’s not sure where they go from here. They’re happy when they’re scheming together, working in harmony, but if they talk about anything real then it will start to fall apart. Dennis is sure of it. It’s just the way that they are.

“Do you want to go find Frank and Charlie?” Mac asks after several minutes; he gives Dennis a small smile.

“Sure” Dennis says. They turn together to walk towards the exit. 

Mac walks slightly ahead. When he goes to open the door, it seems to be stuck. Mac pulls on the door, _once, twice, three times_ but it is not budging.

Mac slowly turns around to look at Dennis.

“Hey, Dennis, don’t freak out but I think we’re locked up here” Mac says, avoiding Dennis’ eyes.

“We’re _what_?” Dennis asks, alarmed. He tries to pull open the door, but to no avail, they are definitely stuck on this roof. 

Mac sits down and leans his back against the door. He raises an eyebrow when Dennis glares at him.

“What? Why are you looking at me like that?” Mac asks, confused.

Dennis scoffs “I’m just wondering why you’re making yourself comfortable instead of doing anything to get us out of here” Dennis says condescendingly as he glares down his nose at Mac.

Mac whips out his phone and types a message. He waves the phone at Dennis.  
“I texted the group chat, someone should see it and come get us” Mac says with a self-assured smirk. Mac’s words are confirmed when Dennis’ pocket vibrates with the message Mac had sent to the gang’s chat. 

Dennis slumps down to the ground a few feet away from Mac. The sun is starting to lower, and the golden light reflects off of the glass buildings around them, it is beautiful but it’s not exactly where Dennis had planned to spend his night.

They sit in silence for a while. Dennis is in an irritable mood, now more than ever. 

“This is all your fault you know” Dennis says quietly. He doesn’t look over at Mac, just speaks his words into the dawning evening light.

Mac’s head whips to the side, he fixes Dennis with a confused stare.  
“What is?” he asks, he sounds concerned and annoyed at the same time.

“This. Us being stuck here. If you hadn’t had to drag me up here then we wouldn’t be here right now” Dennis huffs out, fixing Mac with a glare.

Mac jumps to his feet and starts pacing. Dennis takes this as a sign that he’s gotten under Mac’s skin. 

“What?! I was just trying to show you something cool. I-I thought of you for some reason when I first found it. I came up here when Frank was scoping out the hotel, but whatever. I thought you would like it. You’re the one who didn’t think that the brick that was sitting _right by the fucking door_ might be used for something. You’re the one who did this dude, not me” Mac is practically screaming at this point, his vocal volume increasing as he gets more upset, pitch rising.

At this Dennis jumps up from his spot on the ground.  
“You dumbass! You didn’t _fucking tell me_ that the brick was to prop open the door. Sorry that I’m not a fucking mind reader!” Dennis spits back at him. They’re circling each other like two junkyard dogs about to go for each other’s throats. 

“Whatever Dennis” Mac says, he pins Dennis with a withering glare. Mac turns on his heel and walks back towards the edge of the roof, away from where Dennis is rooted to the cement.

“Why’d you leave?” Dennis calls out, his tone angry.

Mac doesn’t turn back around but he stops walking.   
“What are you talking about Dennis?” Mac asks, sounding tired.

“What the fuck do you mean what am I talking about?! Last night, you-you just fucking left without a word. What am I supposed to take from that, huh?” Dennis sounds sadder than he means to as the words leave his mouth, it’s too late to take them back now. 

“I left because if I didn’t then you would just tell me to go anyways. I’m tired of being rejected by you, it just hurts too much” Mac turns around and stares at his feet. When he looks up, Dennis can tell that his eyes are filling with tears.  
“Mac, I wasn’t going to tell you to go” Dennis says quietly, he doesn’t even know if Mac has heard him. He guesses that he must have when Mac starts walking back towards him. 

“You weren’t?” Mac asks, Dennis shakes his head.

Mac walks closer but he is shaking his head. Dennis reaches out towards him, but Mac bats his hand away.

“What’s wrong?” Dennis asks, sounding worried.

“I just don’t get you man” Mac lets out a sad sounding laugh as he looks at Dennis.

“For years it has been hot and cold with you. One minute we’re making out on the couch and the next you’re getting married to some chick from high school. All you do is send mixed signals” Mac sounds exasperated as he stares at Dennis, his eyes pleading.

Dennis looks down at the ground. He was not expecting to have this conversation ever, but he really was not expecting to have it today.

“Mac you sent mixed signals too! You would be all over me and then go on a rant about how sinful gay marriage is, saying how God was going to smite all of the gays and give them AIDS and shit. You were so deep into that Catholic bullshit that I never thought-“Dennis cuts off, for some reason unknown to him he has developed a lump in his throat.

“You never thought what?” Mac asks, breathing in sharply. 

“I never thought you would come out! Like on the list of things that were impossible in the entire fucking world, that was on the top of the list! Then you what? Come out over a lotto ticket and I’m supposed to just follow you?” Dennis can’t tell whether he wants to cry or scream. He could probably go for a little of both. 

“Well, I’m sorry that that’s how it happened okay Dennis? What do you want me to do now?” Mac looks at him, he looks scared of whatever Dennis is going to say next. His eyes are sad, and Dennis’ chest tightens. 

“Come here” Dennis says, holding out his hand.

“What?” Mac aks.

“I said, come here. You asked me what I want you to do next. I want you to come over here” Dennis says, holding out his hand again to exaggerate his point.

Mac grabs Dennis’ hand and Dennis pulls him closer. 

This time Dennis doesn’t lean in entirely, they meet in the middle.  
Dennis sighs when Mac’s mouth parts to deepen the kiss. Mac slowly pushes him against the wall and Dennis feels a tingle travel from the bottom of his spine to the top of his neck. He shivers. Mac’s hands come up to hold both sides of his face gently. Their mouths move together in unison. They stay like that for a few moments, breathing each other in. Now that Dennis thinks about it, not that he’s thinking too much at the moment, this is the first time that they have kissed entirely sober. It’s usually something that happens in their living room when it’s dark, when they are sloppy and drunk. Fast and hungry.

Dennis lets his thoughts fall away completely and lets Mac’s touch envelop him. Mac is everywhere. He can smell his cologne, strong and comforting. Mac fingers lightly trail up Dennis’ spine, which makes him shiver again. Mac tugs his hair like he did the night before, pulling and then letting his head fall back, again and again. At this, Dennis loses his goddam mind. 

His hands move from Mac’s hips, under his shirt. He flicks Mac’s nipple lightly which makes Mac sink his teeth into Dennis’ lower lip. Mac lets out a deep moan and Dennis swallows it gladly.

They move together in unison against the brick wall, the sun setting as they unravel each other entirely. 

The kisses they share have increased in speed and desire is bleeding through the cracks. Dennis leans down to kiss Mac’s neck. Mac clumsily unbuttons Dennis’ shirt. Dennis stops working on Mac’s neck long enough to pull the yellow shirt over his head. At the sight of the yellow piece of fabric Dennis lets out a small laugh. Mac pauses.

Mac tilts up Dennis’ chin with his finger.  
“What’s so funny?” he asks, pouting a little.

Dennis reaches out with his thumb to even out the wrinkles the pout is causing to crease on Mac’s face.

“That shirt, it reminds me of our blazers” Dennis says quietly.

Mac grins and Dennis can tell that he definitely chose that shirt with the intention of triggering Dennis’ memories of their Honey and Vinegar scheme. 

Dennis smiles back and kisses Mac again. They both groan when their naked torsos press together. Their bodies move together as Mac pushes them even closer together. Dennis can feel Mac’s erection pushing into his leg. He pushes against it, causing friction, Mac whines into his mouth. Dennis does it again and Mac bites his lip again, harder this time. Dennis smiles against Mac’s mouth as they continue to push against each other.

Dennis has just pulled down the zipper to Mac’s pants when he hears the sound of metal against cement. They jump apart and scramble to grab their clothing. They are both shoving their shirts on when Charlie pokes his head around the door.

Charlie stares at them for a second, taking in the scene before he speaks.

“Heard you guys needed to be rescued” Charlie gives them a look but doesn’t say anything further as he waits for a response.

Mac and Dennis have both straightened themselves out (in a sense), but they look guilty as their cheeks are flushed and mouths both bright red.

They smile at each other before turning towards Charlie and walking out of the rusty metal door, it shuts behind them just as the sun finally sets behind the city skyline.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find me @macdentrash on Tumblr to chat or submit your prompts. Let me know your thoughts on this chapter on Tumblr or in the comments! What would you like to see next from this story?


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